Children's Home run by After Care (NW) Limited in Sefton

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people benefit from improved outcomes in their education and training.  They have access to a range of health services, including specialist support from sexual health and smoking cessation services. This ensures that they have access to expert information to help them make healthier life choices.  They are fully involved in the day-to-day running of the home. Staff encourage and support them to plan the home’s menus, activities and design their own bedrooms.  Staff support young people to maintain contact with members of their family in a safe and planned way. This helps them to develop a positive self- identity and sustain important relationships with significant people.  Staff manage risk taking behaviour, including missing from home, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and self-harm well. They alert all safeguarding professionals; promoting a partnership approach to risk management.  The home is managed by a committed and strong leader. Staff are

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The children's home provision is good because:

supported well and this enables them to provide young people with a good standard of care and protection.  Areas for improvement include, staff ensuring that all items are consistently secured within the home.  Staff training and development on safer internet use to enable them to recognise risks and teach young people how to keep themselves safe when using the internet.  There are some minor maintenance issues that detract from the welcoming homely environment that the home provides.  Monthly monitoring visits are not robust and do not provide a rigorous assessment of the quality of care and protection provided within the home.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must –

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Requirement Due date

(2)(b) ensure that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 15/02/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure to provide an environment that is welcoming and in doing so demonstrates that the staff care for young people and value them as individuals. With particular reference to the carpet in the vacant bedroom and ensuring all repairs are undertaken in a timely way. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, paragraph 3.7, page 15)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff’s skills for safeguarding should include being able to identify risks to young people while using the internet, and support young people in strategies to manage and reduce such risks. With particular reference to E-safety training for staff and young people. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, paragraph 9.10, page 43)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, paragraph 15.5, page 65)

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people with emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/02/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

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good

The home provides young people with a good standard of care. Young people benefit from personalised care planning and a committed staff team. Staff know young people well and strive to meet their needs and improve their life chances. As a result, they make good progress in most areas of their development. This is reflected in an independent reviewing officer’s comments, ‘I feel she is making lots of progress. Her education attendance having gone up to 100% demonstrates this.’

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good

Staff have high aspirations for young people and therefore place emphasis on getting them to engage with education and achieve. As a result, young people are ambitious and have plans for their future. Through staff support, they are growing in confidence and taking steps to achieve their goals. For example, improved school attendance is enhancing one young person’s chances of gaining some qualifications to pursue her ambition - a career in health. Another is excelling in her hairdressing apprenticeship.

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good

Health is fully promoted within the home. Young people benefit from a range of support from specialist services including, school counsellors, in-house therapist, sexual health clinics, and smoking cessation services. Their health needs are fully understood by staff that have access to all relevant information, including immunisation records, childhood illness and previous health intervention.

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good

Young people report positive relationships with most staff. They each reported having favourite staff members who they referred to as ‘great’ and ‘brilliant’. This ensures that they can talk to a trusted adult.

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good

Young people develop confidence and are fully encouraged to have their say. They are involved in the day-day running of the home, including choosing meals, planning their activities and personalising their own space. They also participate in care planning. A young person wanted unsupervised contact with her sister. Staff advocated her wishes to her social worker and a plan was put in place, which enabled her to spend Christmas day, alone, with her sister. She thoroughly enjoyed this contact and is now seeing her sister on a regular basis. Not only does this demonstrate staff listening and advocating for young people. It shows their commitment to promoting family contact.

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good

Contact is fully considered and planned for those young people who live a distance from their families. Staff work in partnership with placing authorities to plan contact in a safe and meaningful way. At times, young people do not feel satisfied with the restrictions placed on contact with their families. They struggle to accept that such restrictions are in place to keep them safe. This has led to an increase in them going missing from home, which compromises their safety. The home is working diligently with placing authorities to address these concerns and explore solutions, such as enabling family to visit the home.

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good

Independence is promoted on a daily basis. Young people help staff to prepare meals and shop. Staff also prepare them emotionally for independent living by teaching them about how to stay safe and recognise risky situations. Some young people who have left the home and moved onto independence still keep in contact with the manager and staff. This demonstrates good emotional support and confirms young people’s positive experiences while living at the home.

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good

The accommodation is ‘homely’ and welcoming. In the main, it is well maintained and nicely decorated. Some minor issues were noted and repaired during this inspection. However, the carpet in the vacant bedroom is badly stained. The manager said this will be replaced before a young person moves into that room.

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good

Detailed risk assessments about potential risks and how to respond provide staff with clear practical guidance. Young people are being helped and protected by a committed and experienced team. Staff receive on-going training on a range of safeguarding matters, including child protection and child sexual exploitation (CSE). Their expertise in safeguarding can be further enhanced with specific training on internet use. This will increase staff’s knowledge and confidence in dealing with internet abuse and enable them to teach young people how to stay safe on-line.

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good

Staff follow missing from home procedures well. More serious incidents are escalated to multi-disciplinary meetings, this ensures all relevant safeguarding professionals are working together to assess risk and minimise harm. Staff are alert to the associated risks of missing, such as CSE, substance misuse and offending behaviour. They are therefore vigilant, recognise potential dangers and take good action when such concerns arise. A missing from home and CSE police officer described staff as ‘confident and professional.’ All professionals commended staff’s safeguarding practice. For example, a safeguarding professional said, ‘They couldn’t be more pro-active in terms of sharing information and concerns….they know the procedures and work hard with the local authority.’ Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their own and other professionals’ safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They know whom to turn to for further

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good

guidance and support. The home has forged sound relationships with the local community police officer, who calls to the home to have informal chats with young people about dangerous behaviours and situations. Effective partnerships between the home, police and social workers are further enhancing young people’s safety and welfare.

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good

Young people know how to make a complaint and are not afraid to do so. The complaints reviewed at this inspection demonstrated a swift, thorough and fair response. When young people complain about staff, a senior company manager investigates the complaint. He meets with the young person away, from the home, and records their comments in detail. Outcomes of the investigation are fed back to the young person and followed up in writing. When necessary, complaints against staff are referred to the designated officer in the home’s local authority. This ensures transparency and an impartial overview of the investigation.

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good

Staff have not always been vigilant to prevent risk within the home. On two occasions young people have been able to take the home’s car keys; potentially placing themselves, and others, in danger.

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good

The Registered Manager is suitably qualified and very experienced. She is dedicated to improving outcomes for young people and developing the service. She clearly has high expectations for both. Meeting young people’s needs and ensuring their safety is her priority. This was reflected in an independent reviewing officer’s comments, ‘I was very impressed with the manager of the home, who clearly has built a positive and natural relationship with (young person’s name). She provided me with information about the company and one of the most comprehensive reports, from an outside agency, I have ever read. Their time and effort is a demonstration of their commitment.’

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good

Young people benefit from living in a well-managed home. Both leaders and staff understand their needs and make good efforts to ensure they continually progress from their starting points. Consequently, young people are making noticeable progress in their learning, health, emotional resilience, and their welfare and safety is fully promoted.

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good

Staff report feeling supported by the Registered Manager. They attend regular professional supervision and team meetings. Here they are encouraged to reflect on practice, discuss young people’s needs and identify professional development. New staff receive a thorough induction into the home’s policies, procedures and practice. They are provided with ample opportunities to shadow more experienced staff and learn from their peers and get to know young people’s needs. Nearly all of the staff, with exception of new members, have completed mandatory training, which includes, behaviour management and safeguarding. This effective support is reflected in the good standard of care and commitment provided by the team.

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good

The home’s Statement of Purpose is up-to-date and clearly reflects the aims of the service, giving a true overall picture of the care provided. This has been appropriately translated into a young person guide, which informs young people of what to expect when living in the home and who they can contact for additional support, including Ofsted. As a result, social workers, commissioners, parents and young people have clear expectations of the service and know who to contact if they have any concerns or complaints.

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good

The manager and staff work effectively with other professionals, including social workers, teachers and apprenticeship sponsors. The home plays an active role in care planning and professionals consistently report excellent communication and partnership working. The manager works hard at ensuring all relevant documents are obtained, such as care and education plans. This ensures consistency in care as everyone is working from the same plan.

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good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development and has plans in place to drive the service forward. For example, improving staff training using good quality on-line resources. Furthermore, she has plans to involve young people in this training when appropriate to do so.

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good

Regular monitoring, carried out by the manager, is ensuring continued improvements in staff practice and children’s progress. However, monitoring systems can be further enhanced with more robust independent monitoring. The monthly independent monitoring reports do not provide a rigorous assessment of the care and protection provided in the home.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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